春天如何粉嫰、炎夏是哪種火紅、冬季是慘白還是冰藍？早晨是甚麼色彩，祝福是哪種顏色？若要你為生活定一個色調，那將會是和諧的還是繽紛的？
郵購商店Felissimo於去年25年前便推出了一套500色的木彩色筆。Felissimo本身主要製作家品及衣服，25年前，品牌希望能夠創造出讓任何人都感到幸福快樂的產品，負責產品發現的人員想起自己小時候擁有一盒 6 色的木顏色筆，用完後，母親送他 12 色的，色彩增加了，彷彿世界也更多彩多姿。當時的喜悅難以言傳，莫名的感動與幸福感，至今仍然難忘，於是忽發奇想，不如來造500色的吧。
500色的木顏色，分為25個主題，每個主題共20色。訂購以後，每個月會收到一個主題的木顏色筆，25個月後，便能儲齊一整套了。Felissimo對這套木顏色筆有著特別的堅持，希望所有生產工序都是在日本進行的。日本曾經有140多間木顏色的生產商，現時由於電腦及普及，人們少有了文具，只餘下44家了，其中有20家均於東京都的葛飾區及荒川區之中，而生產顏色筆芯的，則只有位於山梨縣的一家工廠。
木顏色的筆芯是以蠟與粉狀顏料混合而成的，跟水彩或廣告彩不同，混合的過程較為複雜，要調配出色彩只有微妙的顏色，需要較精密的計算，生產500種色彩絕非易事。Felissimo經過多次游說，才說明這唯一的筆芯生產商與他們一起接受這項挑戰。
筆芯的柔軟度、筆杆執在手裡時是否舒適、是否易於收藏，都是他們設計時的考慮因素。另外還有一個因素，教他們費煞思量的，就是給色彩取名字。這套500色的木顏色筆，每一種顏色都有其獨特的名字，例如粉色色系的，有Princess Diary、Cosmopolitan Crush以及Pretty Piggy，每個名字象徵著一種意境，勾引出我們對生活豐富的想像。
The pastel color of spring, the bright red of summer, the cold pale blue of winter, the color of morning time, the color of a blessing… What is the color of your life? Is it a harmonic color, or is it a vibrant one?
Last year, the online shop Felissimo relaunched its 500 colored pencils which were first introduced 25 years ago. Felissimo has been focussed on homeware and fashion. 25 years ago, a product designer was told to create a product of happiness. Inspired by his childhood memory, where he received a box of 12 colored pencils from his mother after finished using his box of 6 colored pencils, he created this collection of 500 colored pencils, so as to recreate the sense of delight he had when receiving the extra colors as a present. The 500 colors were his attempt to share with others the inexpressible and unforgettable joy he had from the 12 colored pencils.
The 500 colored pencils are divided into 25 20-color-sets. After subscribing, a palette arrives every month, each with a unique theme. The complete collection will be sent over a period of 25 months. Felissimo insisted on manufacturing the color pencils only in Japan. Although there were over 140 color pencil manufacturers in Japan, only 44 remain as people become less dependent on stationary along with the popular use of computer. 20 of these factories located in Katsushika and Arakawa in Tokyo. The lead of Felissimo’s colored pencils is manufactured in a factory in Yamanashi, which is possibly the only colored-lead factory in Japan.
The leads that are used in colored pencils have a comparatively complex manufacturing process when compared to water color or poster color. To create a set of 500 subtly different colors, the manufacturer has to carefully calculate the composition of wax and colored powder when producing the lead. The persistence of Felissimo finally succeeded in convincing the only colored-lead factory in Japan to participate in this challenging production of its 500 colored pencils.
Not only did the brand spent effort in considering the best softness of the lead, the comfort level of the grip, as well as the convenience in storing the pencils, they also worked hard on naming every single color. Every of the 500 colors has its own name, for instance the shades of pink are named Princess Diary, Cosmopolitan Crush, and Pretty Piggy. These names are symbols of certain conceptions that inspire creative imaginations to our daily lives.
